Deconstructing Minorities/Majorities in Parliamentary Gulf States (Kuwait and Bahrain)

Beaugrand, Claire

doi:10.1080/13530194.2016.1138645

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Indeed, because ‘discrimination against the Shiites is entrenched in the state's Wahhabi ideology’ (Beaugrand :235), public institutions like schools are able to propagate sectarian beliefs, thus converting the Saudi state itself into a decidedly sectarian actor. The curricula of Saudi state schools, heavily influenced by Wahhabism, often portray Shias as apostates (Human Rights Watch ).…”

Section: The Use Of Symbols and Narratives In The Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Symbiosis of Sectarianism, Authoritarianism, and Rentierism in the Saudi State

Freer

2019

Studies Ethnicity & National

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Saudi Arabia provides a compelling example of how sectarianism sustains the dynamics of authoritarianism, especially when bolstered by a rentier political economy. In this paper, I investigate three claims about the link between Saudi authoritarianism and sectarianism, as follows: (1) Governing with a sectarian ideology impedes political reform, since it disrupts cross-sectarian reform coalitions by attacking the sectarian outgroup. (2) The presence of multiple sects, as well as hydrocarbon wealth, allows regimes like that of al-Saʿud to use divide-and-rule tactics to maintain control; it also enables the funding of media and education outlets with the purpose of perpetuating authoritarianism, especially when the authoritarian dynamics are underpinned by a rentier political economy. (3) Despite the authoritarian and rentier dynamics in play, the Saudi government has at times sought at least a degree of inclusion of the Shia minority, depending on the political economy and the relative influence of Shia and Sunni Islamists. Using the existing literature on the Saudi state and historical examples, I aim to clarify the link between sectarianism and authoritarianism in a state in which the Sunni/Shia division, bolstered by a rentier political economy, has emerged as a powerful means of maintaining the political status quo.

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Section: The Use Of Symbols and Narratives In The Mediamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Symbiosis of Sectarianism, Authoritarianism, and Rentierism in the Saudi State

Freer

2019

Studies Ethnicity & National

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“…In the case of Bahrain, it is now well established that the 2011 uprising caused a rise in sectarian strife in the small kingdom, and it is often argued that this is largely due to regime instrumentalization: securing itself by framing the uprising as a sectarian threat to stability (Beaugrand ; Diwan ; Fibiger ; Kasbarian and Mabon ; Matthiesen , ). However, as we have argued above, sectarianism had already been involved in regime dynamics long before, as well as after the uprising.…”

Section: Case Studies: Kuwait and Bahrainmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shia Muslims in Kuwait are estimated to comprise 15–25% out of a national population of ca. 1.3 million (see http://gulfmigration.eu/glmm‐database/demographic‐and‐economic‐module/; see also Beaugrand ). The total population in Kuwait, including primarily Arab, South Asian and Southeast Asian migrants, is here estimated at 4.2 million people.…”

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confidence: 99%

Civic Space and Sectarianism in the Gulf States: The Dynamics of Informal Civil Society in Kuwait and Bahrain beyond State Institutions

Hafidh

Fibiger

2019

Studies Ethnicity & National

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The two small, multi-sectarian Arab Gulf countries of Kuwait and Bahrain present two cases of the relationship between regimes and the everyday dynamics of sectarianism, offering both significant similarities and differences. In this article we focus on the role of informal spaces in amplifying or negating regime narratives of sectarianism. Both countries have a tradition of parliaments, which in both cases, however, have lost credibility among their citizens. Instead, informal spaces have become important, but they have come to be so in different ways in relation to the specific regime rhetoric of sectarianism: in Bahrain the regime promotes a sectarian narrative of political conflict, which is countered at the societal level, whereas in Kuwait, while the regime sees itself as cross-sectarian, Kuwaiti society has become increasingly sectarianized. Relating this focus on informal spaces to a discussion of the ideological state apparatus (ISA), we provide a theoretical model for how this can be analyzed on a more general level, contributing to recent discussions of grassroots and non-formal activism.

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“…and within protest movements, some of whom, residing outside of major cities, have demanded the end of the monarchy itself, while other more integrated opposition groups such as Al Wifaq (Beaugrand, 2016), have been open to engaging with the Crown Prince over reform (Hilterman and McEvers, 2011 . By creating and bolstering the fear and the perception of 'the Iranian bogeyman' (Zunes, 2013, pp156-8) and conspiracy with the local Shi'i as agents, the regime was able to present itself as the antidote to the apparently inevitable sectarianism and the destructive potential, and thereby legitimising the use of any means necessary to quash dissent.…”

Section: Sectarianism As Narrative and Weaponmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contested spaces and sectarian narratives in post-uprising Bahrain

Kasbarian

Mabon

2016

Global Discourse

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Deconstructing Minorities/Majorities in Parliamentary Gulf States (Kuwait and Bahrain)

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

The Symbiosis of Sectarianism, Authoritarianism, and Rentierism in the Saudi State

The Symbiosis of Sectarianism, Authoritarianism, and Rentierism in the Saudi State

Civic Space and Sectarianism in the Gulf States: The Dynamics of Informal Civil Society in Kuwait and Bahrain beyond State Institutions

Contested spaces and sectarian narratives in post-uprising Bahrain

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